By: Dallen Stanford
BOULDER, Colo. -– Eagles Head Coach, Eddie O’Sullivan, has selected his squad of 30 players that will represent the United States at the 2011 Rugby World Cup (RWC) in New Zealand next month.
The Eagles will compete in Pool C at the RWC, taking on Australia, Ireland, Italy and Russia in pool play. NBC Universal has released their broadcast schedule of the tournament, which begins with the opening ceremony on September 9 and concludes with the RWC final on October 23. Visit Universal Sports for details: www.universalsports.com
”I think there is a sense of relief that we are now in a position to name the final squad of 30 for the RWC. It has been a thorough process and I belief that we have the best 30 players available to us heading into the RWC.
As expected we have had to make some very tough decisions to get to the final squad, but that is just reflection on the talent available to us,” said O’Sullivan.
Todd Clever will captain the squad, with 16 forwards and 14 backs making up the team. Mike Petri – who led the Eagles against Japan on Sunday night in Tokyo – has been named the vice-captain.
Selected in the front row are Mike MacDonald, Mate Moeakiola, Eric Fry and Shawn Pittman. Three hookers have been selected in Chris Biller, Phil Thiel and Brian McClenahan.
The lock specialists are John van der Giessen, Hayden Smith and Scott LaValla. The loose-forwards include: Inaki Basauri, Pat Danahy, JJ Gagiano, Nic Johnson, Louis Stanfill, along with Clever.
In the backline, Tim Usasz is at scrumhalf with Petri. Partnering them at flyhalf are Nese Malifa and Roland Suniula. The centers will be Paul Emerick, Tai Enosa, Junior Sifa and Andrew Suniula.
Out wide the wings are Colin Hawley, Taku Ngwenya, James Paterson and Kevin Swiryn. Chris Wyles and Blaine Scully complete the squad as fullbacks.
”All eyes are now turned to RWC and our departure from the USA on September 1,” commented the Head Coach.
The squad will assemble in Santa Barbara on August 28 for their final preparations before flying to New Zealand on September 1.
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Eagles XV
By: Dallen Stanford, USA Rugby
Tokyo, Japan – Eagles Head Coach, Eddie O’Sullivan, has made eight changes to his team that started against Canada in Glendale last weekend. The USA will face Japan at 7.00 p.m on Sunday, August 21, at the Prince Chichbu Memorial Rugby Ground with the match available LIVE online at UniversalSports.com at 6 a.m. EST, and delayed on TV at 5:30 p.m. EST.
”Again we have made a number of changes to selection, as this is our final hit out before Rugby World Cup (RWC) and also our last opportunity to take a look at players before we make the final squad announcement,” said O’Sullivan.
The Eagles coaching staff will announce the RWC squad of 30 players following the clash with Japan, with one final chance to book their tickets to the third largest sporting event in the world.
Captain Todd Clever – who plays his club rugby in Tokyo at Suntory Sungoliath – is unavailable due to injury. Scrumhalf Mike Petri will lead the United States this weekend: “I am obviously disappointed for Todd, but I hope to continue the good work he has done, and set an example. I am really looking forward to this opportunity”.
In the forwards veteran Mike MacDonald starts at loosehead prop and will equal the most appearances for an Eagle (62) set by his former teammate, Luke Gross. MacDonald made his debut against Fiji in 2000, and has played in all eight USA matches during the 2003 and 2007 RWC’s.
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Nese MalifaHeight: 5’10″
Weight: 187 lbs.
Position(s): Flyhalf
Current Club: Glendale
Born: September 10, 1985 in American Samoa
Hometown: Auckland, New Zealand
Current Residence: Long Beach, CA
Valenese Malifa is an American rugby union fly-half. He is a member of the United States national rugby union team and participated with the squad at the 2007 Rugby World Cup. Nese Malifa has played rugby since he was 17 years old. He played for Auckland and Samoa Rugby Clubs before moving to the U.S. to play for Belmont Shore. During his stint in the Pacific Islands, Malifa was a representative rugby player in Auckland in both the XV’s and Sevens game, as well as playing representative rugby in Samoa. Malifa’s talents were noticed by selectors while playing for Ponsonby and then the Eden Club in Auckland. Lesser known are Malifa’s talents in other sporting codes, as Malifa represented Samoa in Cricket. Malifa switched to his favored flyhalf position for the USA Hawks match against Canada West in the 2007 North America 4. He couldn’t have asked for a better start to his NA4 career, notching all of his teams points through two converted tries and two penalty goals from two attempts.
Playing rugby is all in the family for Nese – his father and three brothers also play the game. Valenese used to play premier Auckland club rugby for the Eden Eagles. It is considered that his twin brother Ata Malifa, was the better player at youth level. Their older brother Angelo, was the best fullback in the Eden club.
Photo Credit: Eagles XV
By Dallen Stanford
Toronto – Despite a late comeback from the Eagles, Canada held on for a 28-22 win in front of a record crowd of more than 10,000 at BMO Field. In so doing Canada retain the Can/Am Trophy. The match was aired LIVE on TSN in Canada and Universal Sports in America.
The USA produced some excellent passages of play, scoring three team tries in the process.
Eagles Head Coach, Eddie O’Sullivan, said: “We are disappointed, it would have been great to get the win here in Toronto. We let in a couple of tries from very simple errors that really hurt us, and put ourselves under pressure. But we responded well and got back into the game,”
The Eagles will travel back to Glendale, Colorado, tomorrow for what will be a very busy week. The USA Select XV will play the Glendale Raptors on Wednesday August 10 at Infinity Park. Then on Saturday, August 13, the Eagles will take on Canada at the same venue, with kick-off at 7.15 P.M. This match will be broadcast LIVE – both online and on television – through Universal Sports.
“There were plenty of positives against Canada. Our scrum was very solid and our line-out fired well for the most part. We scored some good tries, and with more time together, the team cohesiveness will only improve. We have one week to fine tune things before the return match,” said O’Sullivan.
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Photo Credit: USA Rugby
By Kyle Jones
USA gives up early lead to give Canada the win.
Canada 28 USA 22
“Disappointment” has to be the one thing on everyone’s mind after a stunning defeat by Canada today. A confusing start allowed Canada to score unscathed in the 6th minute after a bizarre call that would only set the tone for what was to come. USA overcame some poor kicks by Nese Malifa with two daring tries in the first half.
The fiirst came from Takudzwa Ngwenya after a brilliant pass from Todd Clever. Canada continued with penalties, providing Nese Malifa more opportunities to make good on penalty kicks, yet he failed to convert. Clever took things into his own hands and capitalized on Canada’s weakness: Line Outs. He intercepted one late in the first half, instantly converting it into a try and putting the Eagles up 15-7. The tide would begin to shift just before the half, with USA giving up senseless penalties as well, providing Canada with a penalty kick. The half ended USA 15-10 Canada.
Before you could say, “Bob’s your Uncle” the Eagles did the unthinkable. Nese Malifa dropped a pass back in his own red zone, providing Canada with an instant try and a two-point lead. The Eagles never went back in front.
Canada showed their physical dominance and ability to last the full 80 minutes by pounding out more penalty points and one more try with a quick phase out of an overpowering scrum. The score would climb to 25-15 before USA would even come close to another chance at goal. It would take Tim Usasz, the scrumhalf, to breathe direction and life into a fatigued USA offense. He would get them within meters of a try not once, but twice before Clever would bring it home off a flashy pass from Inaki Basauri.
But their missed opportunities to score just moments earlier cost them precious time and would not allow them to mount another attack before the game was over. With just 1 minute to go, Canada put up its final penalty kick to put the Eagles out of reach. The clock would wind down and USA would squander a first-half lead and hand a close win to Canada.
This game could have gone either way, with both teams playing very different halves. USA dominated possession early, but Canada clearly took advantage of the penalty calls and the fatigue of the USA Eagles.
Some things to watch out for next week at Infinity Park in Glendale, Colo.: USA Eagles fixing those poor kicks and maintaining their endurance throughout the match; Canada looking to desperately fix their lineout turnovers and maintaining possession. It should be another exciting match, which will hopefully come out in our favor. Stay tuned for details on tickets and live coverage.
Full Game Replay: Here
Video Highlights: Here
Ian Muir Photo
This was a highly anticipated game. This was the match to watch as a preview for the 2011 Rugby World Cup. USA Wins it! 32-25 win over Russia! Try Time coming from Paul Emerick, Andrew Suniula, Todd Clever, and Tai Enosa. Man of the Match: Nese Malifa.
Clever showed up as a true captain in this match, providing key tackles and capitalizing on a missed pass by Russia for a daring try! This is was exactly the type of leadership that the Eagles were looking for. Meanwhile, Nese Malifa provided a glorious foot and supplied key passes throughout the match. Great team work from all of the boys. Cal Golden Bears Alumni in full force out on the pitch today as well: Louis Stanfill, Chris Biller, Blaine Scully. Hawley & Fry.
The Eagles look to hold a huge psychological advantage over Russia going into the world cup, winning the last 3 matches against them including this match at The Churchill Cup.
For the full recap: Click Here!
Highlights Below:
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBPYwn6quUE]
